Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Phenolic content and biological activities of Lycium barbarum L (Solanaceae) fruits (Goji berries) cultivated in Konya, Turkey

Esra Eroglu Ozkan¹ , Tugba Yilmaz Ozden², Gizem Gulsoy Toplan¹, Afife Mat¹

¹Department of Pharmacognosy; ²Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, 34116 Istanbul, Turkey.

For correspondence:- Esra Ozkan Email: eseroglu@istanbul.edu.tr

Accepted: 23 September 2018 Published: 31 October 2018

Citation: Ozkan EE, Ozden TY, Toplan GG, Mat A. Phenolic content and biological activities of Lycium barbarum L (Solanaceae) fruits (Goji berries) cultivated in Konya, Turkey. Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(10):2047-2053 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i10.22

© 2018 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the phenolic content and biological activities of Lycium barbarum fruits cultivated in Turkey.

Methods: Phenolic compounds in the water and methanol extracts of the fruits were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide radical scavenging activities and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the fruits. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of the fruits was evaluated by Ellman assay.

Results: LC-MS/MS results showed that all the extracts contained phenolic compounds including flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthocyanins and polyphenols. Some anthocyanins, namely, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin chloride, pelargonin chloride, pelargonidin chloride, and pelargonidin-3-0-glucoside were identified in the fruits for the first time. Pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were the main anthocyanins in the water extract with levels of 119.60 ± 12.04 and 1112.25 ± 125.40 mg/kg, respectively. The results indicated that the extracts possessed good radical scavenging and ferric-reducing activities.

Conclusion: The results show that Lycium barbarum cultivated in Konya is a good source of the phenolic compounds, and thus may be exploited for commercial production of the antioxidants.

Keywords: Lycium barbarum, Goji berries, Antioxidant activity, Acetylcholinesterase, Flavonoids